Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $115 million (€87 million) firm fixed-price contract to supply a total of 38 AN/APG-68(V)9 radars and spare parts to the Royal Thai Air Force (16 radars) and the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF – 22 radars).

The contract also includes the supply of radar spare parts to the air forces of Egypt and Pakistan. The contract is expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2017.

Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-68(V)9 is the latest incarnation of the AN/APG-68 pulse-Doppler radar originally developed by Westinghouse. In its original form, the radar is thought to have a range of around 296 kilometres (160 nautical miles) and to operate in the X-band frequency range.

The AN/APG-68(V)9 version of the radar updates the previous AN/APG-68(V)8 with new antenna; receiver/exciter; dual mode transmitter and common radar processor line replaceable units. Furthermore, compared to legacy AN/APG-68 systems, the AN/APG-68(V)9 scans a larger volume of space and has a synthetic aperture radar mode.

Beyond the air forces discussed above, the AN/APG-68(V)9 is in service onboard Lockheed Martin F-16D Block-52+ combat aircraft operated by the Israeli Air Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Turkish Air Force, Hellenic Air Force and Pakistan Air Force, in addition to the F-16C/D Block-50/52+ jets of the Polish Air Force.